On the 26th, a strengthening surface cyclone moved northeast across the Northern Plains. As it approached, strong south to southwest winds sustained from 30 to 40 mph with 40 to 50 mph gusts lashed most of the eastern half of Kansas.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS ICT wrote it up.
On the 26th, a strengthening surface cyclone moved northeast across the Northern Plains. As it approached, strong south to southwest winds sustained from 30 to 40 mph with 40 to 50 mph gusts lashed most of the eastern half of Kansas. The winds were strong enough to knock down a utility pole in Allen County that morning.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 26, 6:06 AM CST, 4 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 606 AM CST Fri Jan 26 2018 .SHORT TERM...(Today through Sunday night) Issued at 313 AM CST Fri Jan 26 2018 Water vapor imagery shows shortwave energy tracking across the Great Basin and approaching the Rockies. Cold front currently extends from western ND into eastern CO. As the shortwave progresses east, cold front will also slide southeast. Strong south winds will overspread southeast KS ahead of the front with sustained speeds around 30mph by early this afternoon. Temps will also spike up just ahead of the front as winds turn more westerly allowing for increased downslope. With very dry airmass in place, front should come through mostly dry, until it get into southeast KS early this evening where moisture will be slightly better. With gusty winds and dry conditions, fire danger will again be elevated today. See fire weather section for additional details. Temps will remain well above normal for Sat as we stay in a downslope flow regime. Additional upper energy is expected to dive out of the northern Rockies and down the backside of the trough on Sun. This will allow much colder air to make its way across the northern/central Plains and especially across the northern/mid Mississippi Valley for Sun into Sun night. Our forecast area will be on the western fringes of the colder air with a large temp spread likely across the state. .LONG TERM...(Monday through Thursday) Issued at 313 AM CST Fri Jan 26 2018 Pattern looks to remain active through these extended periods with additional shortwave energy expected to move out of the Pacific Northwest and across the northern Plains Tue into Tue night. This will push the surface high east to start the work week which will bring another warm and windy day for Tue with highs in the 50s and 60s. More winter-like air is expected to move across the area for Wed into Thu as a slower moving longer wave trough passes over the Plains. This will bring some below normal temps for the end the work week. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Saturday morning) Issued at 605 AM CST Fri Jan 26 2018 The hazards today are S winds, especially across SC & SE KS where sustained 25-30kts & gusts ~35kts are likely until 23-00Z. Cigs 3,500-4,000ft will spread rapidly NE across primarily KICT & KCNU this morning & while KICT should scatter this afternoon, KCNU will remain OVC well into the evening (04-05Z). A cold front moving in from Nebraska & NW KS should reach KRSL & KGBD ~21Z & KHUT & KICT this evening but no post-frontal Stratocu would occur. Winds will diminish considerably as the front approaches then shift toward the NW (as is often the case) but minimal increase would result. further diminishment across most areas this evening. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 313 AM CST Fri Jan 26 2018 Strong south/southwest winds are expected today, especially for areas southeast of the KS Turnpike. In these locations, sustained speeds around 30 mph with gusts to near 40 mph will be likely. Afternoon RH values are forecast to range from around 30% west of I-135 to around 50% over southeast KS. Combination of gusty winds and low RH's, will result in very high grassland fire danger for all of the area starting early this afternoon. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Wichita-KICT 63 29 58 27 / 0 10 0 0 Hutchinson 64 27 56 26 / 0 0 0 0 Newton 60 28 56 27 / 0 0 0 0 ElDorado 60 30 57 28 / 10 10 0 0 Winfield-KWLD 64 30 58 28 / 10 10 0 0 Russell 56 24 55 24 / 0 0 0 0 Great Bend 59 23 56 25 / 0 0 0 0 Salina 60 27 56 26 / 0 0 0 0 McPherson 61 26 56 25 / 0 0 0 0 Coffeyville 60 34 60 29 / 10 30 0 0 Chanute 60 32 58 28 / 10 30 0 0 Iola 59 31 58 28 / 10 30 0 0 Parsons-KPPF 60 34 58 28 / 10 30 0 0 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 6 PM CST this evening for KSZ070>072-094>096-098>100. && SHORT TERM...RBL LONG TERM...RBL AVIATION...EPS
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wichita KS 1020 AM CST Fri Jan 26 2018 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-271630- Russell-Lincoln-Barton-Ellsworth-Saline-Rice-McPherson-Marion-Chase- Reno-Harvey-Butler-Greenwood-Woodson-Allen-Kingman-Sedgwick-Harper- Sumner-Cowley-Elk-Wilson-Neosho-Chautauqua-Montgomery-Labette- 1020 AM CST Fri Jan 26 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Central Kansas, South Central Kansas and Southeast Kansas. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Extreme grassland fire danger exists for portions of southeast Kansas this afternoon due to gusty south and southwest winds. See the Red Flag Warning for further details. The remainder of the region will have very high grassland fire danger for the entire area this afternoon. Outdoor burning is highly discouraged today. Winds will be rather strong along and east of I-135 through much of the day. See latest wind advisory in effect for southeast Kansas for additional details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Very high fire danger will overspread the entire area on Tuesday afternoon due to gusty south winds and dry conditions. Light snow will be possible Thursday into Thursday night for mainly central Kansas. Significant snow accumulation is not expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated today or tonight. && For a graphical version of this information, see our webpage at: http://weather.gov/wichita/hwo/
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The emergency manager received reports from multiple citizens that a utility pole was blown down on the east side of Iola.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, January 2018
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 728643.